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Dengue fever outbreak in Honduras

Approximately 11,000 people in Honduras have been infected with dengue and at least 10 have died, leading the nation's authorities to announce a nationwide red alert.

More than 10,780 dengue fever cases have been reported nationwide, blog.taragana.com reports, with 461 of the infected displaying hemorrhagic dengue fever.

The majority of the victims are under the age of 19, Tomas Guevara, head of Epidemiologic Surveillance in the public health ministry, said, according to blog.taragana.com.

To combat the outbreak of infections, hospitals will see their number of beds increased and more medical personnel will be assigned to health centers as part of the red alert. Authorities have also said that the capacity for laboratories to conduct blood tests will be increased.

Mario Roberto Ramos, the head of internal medicine at the Seguro Social Hospital in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, told blog.taragana.com that the hospital's wards were already full and that there was no more space for more patients.

“Before, these cases were coming sporadically, but now, we are receiving from 10 to 15 patients daily,” Ramos told Prensa Latina.

Symptoms of dengue fever include headaches, muscle and joint pains, and rashes. Some mild cases of dengue fever may be diagnosed as influenza or another viral infection if no rash is present.